River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-11-17
THE DEADLY BOMB EXPLOSION

Verein of Chicago. Now that tho excitement
consequent on that occurrence has wholly
passed away, and wien the public Is in pos =
ton TO view the affair in the calm light OF his
tory, brief and impartial review OF the at
tempted outbreak, its causes ana It's results,
can not fail TO be of more than passing interest
February II, 1885, occurred the strike Of the
employees Of the Mccormick Reaper Works,
Mccormick shut down his works and afterwards
employed some hundreds of non-union men I'M
der police protection. The trades unions and
labor organizations had been preparing for
universal strike to enforce the eight-hour sys-
tenn, and had fixed on Monday, May B. as the
date for the new order OF things TO go into ef-
feet. Sunday, May 2, the " Northwestern
Group OF the @Internat onal" met
gel Adolph Fischer, ana other noted An
archists proposed plan for fighting the police
anc militia during the riots that would be
stirred up within the next few days. Monday,
May 3 Spies TENDED a meeting of lumber
showers, held near MCCormick's factory, and,
though the president of the meeting and other
members OF the LumbershOyers' Union pro-
tested against him speaking, he made
violent and infammatOry harangue that soon
lighting pitch while he was speaking the
bell at the Mccormick factory rang,
indicating that the day work was
over, and the men poured ont Of the factory.
and the crowd which Spies was addressing in
stantly rushed TO the factory and began pelting
the non-uniOn men with stones This precipi-
tated conflict. The police were notified and
soon arrived in patrol wagons. During the
conflict stones were thrown ana shots were
fired BY both the police ana the MOB rs
soon as the shots were fired Spies, not AloW-
ing whether any one was killed, ran for
Blue Island avenue car and returned to t.
city. He Immediately went 10 the office OF
the Ar5eifeT Zeifuag and wrote the famous Re
venge" circular. The circular was headed
In heavy type. "ReYengel "Working-men,
TO arms e. ana set forth that the blOOdhounds,
the police had killed six OF their brothers az
McCormicks that afternoon because they
had dared 10 ask for shortening OF the
80 H.t0 nv4A 80 hon nns taE4Nr
must be satisfied with whatever their bosses
condescended TO allow them or be killed.
''If you are men," il concluded, If you are
the sons OF your grandsires who have shed
their blood TO free you, then you viii rise in
your might. Hercules, and destroy the hiceous
monster that seeks 70 destroy you; TO ARMS,
WE CALL YOU To ARMSf' The circular
was set up by seven or eight men in the ar
better ZSinfgg ofice aud stricken OF from the
press with the utmost speed and then rapidly
circulated over the city, PRINCIPALLY n places
where the workingsmeu on strike were &c
eustomcd TO eongregate. That day there
appeared in the Arbcltsr- Ze5fVRg the cabalis-
tic signal 'Y Come Monday ght "a
signal which meant that the members Of
all the armed sections and groups should meet
at Greifs Hail. No. a West Lake street. ABOUT
seventy Of the conspirators met that night n
Greifs basement and there the Haymarket
meeting was planned Fischer was appointed
TO get out the circulars calling the meeting, and
IL was expected that 25,00l people would be
present the ustensible object being the further
ance OF the eight-hoar movement ana Protest
Engel here unfolded the plan OF warfare
adopted az the Emma street meeting AZ
vas arranged that the diIereut armed OF
CARNATIONS should station themselves al iii
Ter ut places in the outskirts OF the city and
be ready to come 20 the assistance OF the
working-men at any place where they should
be attacked: that they should ne armed with
bombs and other weapons, ana in case OF
conflict should destroy the police wherever
seen and should annihlat the firemen and
destroy their hose Different bodies we're
also to march toward the center Of the
citv desfrovinv an who opposed them.
The signal sRuher was to appear in
the Ar5eifer- ZeifHny afternoon issue} 20 in
dictate that all armed 1'odies should act accord
ing 10 this Arrangement. Ffsher wrote the cir
cliiar calling the meeting. The word
sTSuher' appeared in the paper next affer-
noon, In the morning Of the same DAY Louis
Iingg, one 81 the Anarchists who had attended
the Greifs Hall meeting, who had been
engaged manufacturing bombs TOR Two
months previously. sent beligeE an An
archist with whom be boarded. 70 hard
ware store for bolts 70 oe used "a max
ing bombs. Li1gg sad the bombs would oe
needed that night and should be all ready.
Lsug2. Seliger. and Others worked al the AZ
fernoon fraEiax bombs Anarchists known and
unknown. came 10 the house al var Gus times
during the day and carried away bombs AID ia
the evening Lingg and Seiger took yallse
full or bombs TO Nets HAM, another Anarch-
fetic rendezvous for distrlbut on. Only 1910 to
20fO people attended the meeting ~ The Hay
market Spies spoke first. followed 81 Par
sons, and he By Sam FIelcen-